The German energy grid, interpreted through AI. A new painting every two hours.

Grid Poet — 12 October 2026, 08:00
50% renewable
Brown coal and natural gas dominate as heavy cloud, cold temperatures, and modest wind drive large net imports and elevated prices.
Grid analysis Claude AI
Germany's grid is drawing approximately 19.3 GW more than domestic generation at 44.5 GW against 63.8 GW consumption, implying net imports of roughly 19.3 GW — a substantial figure reflecting tight morning conditions on a cold, overcast October day. Brown coal leads generation at 12.7 GW, followed by natural gas at 10.1 GW, with thermal plants collectively providing over 60% of domestic output. Renewables contribute 39.8% of generation, with wind (7.2 GW combined) performing modestly in light winds and solar managing only 5.3 GW under 88% cloud cover with zero direct irradiance. The day-ahead price of 263.2 EUR/MWh reflects the heavy reliance on expensive marginal gas units and significant import volumes needed to meet early-morning demand at 6°C temperatures.
Grid poem Claude AI
Beneath a leaden autumn sky the coal towers breathe their ancient breath, while the grid reaches across borders with outstretched hands, hungry for power the pale wind cannot provide. The furnace-light of lignite paints the morning bronze, and every megawatt bears the weight of a cold October dawn.
Generation mix
Wind onshore 9%
Wind offshore 2%
Solar 29%
Biomass 8%
Hydro 2%
Natural gas 19%
Hard coal 8%
Brown coal 24%
50%
Renewable share
6.0 GW
Wind (on + offshore)
15.6 GW
Solar
53.6 GW
Total generation
10.8 GW
Net import
221.3 EUR/MWh
Day-ahead price
6.9°C / 12 km/h
Temp / Wind speed
Open-Meteo, Kassel (51.3°N 9.5°E) · surface estimate from 100 m wind
Grid data: 12 October 2026, 09:00 (Berlin time)
Carbon intensity
343 gCO₂/kWh
EU 2023
242
DE 2023
~380
0200400600800
Now: 343 gCO₂/kWh EU 2023: 242 gCO₂/kWh DE 2023: ~380 gCO₂/kWh Today avg: 416 gCO₂/kWh
Direct operational emissions (combustion only). Wind · solar · hydro · biomass: 0 gCO₂/kWh. Lignite: 820 · Hard coal: 750 · Gas (CCGT): 490. Sources: UBA, IPCC AR6.
7-day renewable share 7h ago
Day-ahead price — 2026-10-12 + forecast 2026-10-12 click line name to show/hide

Residual load = consumption − wind − solar. It is the net demand that dispatchable plants — coal, gas, biomass, hydro, storage — plus cross-border exchanges must balance. When it is high, expensive thermal capacity is needed and prices rise with it. As residual load falls, wind and solar displace more thermal generation, pulling prices down. When it turns negative, wind and solar output alone exceeds all consumption: controllable plants ramp to their technical minimums, storage absorbs what it can, and the grid exports heavily — often with prices turning negative too.
Forecast (dashed): tomorrow's predicted DA price (P50 median) with P10–P90 uncertainty band. Full forecast →

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European day-ahead prices click market name to show/hide

EUR/MWh. GB: system price in GBP (balancing, not DA auction). Source: Energy-Charts, Elexon. Full markets dashboard →

30 days of grid data as a 3D star map. Each star = one hour. Drag to rotate, scroll to zoom.

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Data Monument — 12 October 2026, 08:00
12 October 2026, 08:00